Results : Windows 7 Package Removal.

As I mentioned in another thread I have been looking heavily into the package foundation that Windows 7 is built upon. I have spent the last 26 hours or so removing one package at a time and installing Windows 7 everytime to log any differences.

These are the results from Windows 7 7600, X64 Professional.

Safe for removalVirtualisationVirtual PC / Virtual XP Back end filesHyper V Packages (May possibly break the ability to boot from VHD...I don't have the ability to test this at the moment)

PrintingPrinting XPS PackagePrinting Premium ToolaPrinting Local Printing HomePrinting Foundation (Printing still seemed to work, local & network, with this removed)Printer Drivers (Removes all the built in drivers for printers. Users can still install drivers if they have the disk)

As I mentioned in another thread I have been looking heavily into the package foundation that Windows 7 is built upon. I have spent the last 26 hours or so removing one package at a time and installing Windows 7 everytime to log any differences.

These are the results from Windows 7 7600, X64 Professional.

Safe for removalVirtualisationVirtual PC / Virtual XP Back end filesHyper V Packages (May possibly break the ability to boot from VHD...I don't have the ability to test this at the moment)

speaken of activation, anyone know when we can see the first keys around ? .. i know that we will be able to generate new keys to customers soon.. but just wondering when msdn customers will get theirs...

speaken of activation, anyone know when we can see the first keys around ? .. i know that we will be able to generate new keys to customers soon.. but just wondering when msdn customers will get theirs...

Best I ever did with 7 x86 was around 2.8GB installed. That's including the stupidity that is winsxs (so around ~1.4GB) using vLite and DISM. Kept IE8 and WMP11, Paint, a few other bits. I guess 4-8GB is about the best you'll get without breaking things or setup failing partway through.

Just because of what happened to the Vista SP path when you Vlite some stuff, I wouldn't be doing this if I was going to seriously use 7. Although it is cool to have a superslimmed Windows install. Bonus points if you can get it to work on a OLPC.

Just because of what happened to the Vista SP path when you Vlite some stuff, I wouldn't be doing this if I was going to seriously use 7. Although it is cool to have a superslimmed Windows install. Bonus points if you can get it to work on a OLPC.

The difference here is the way it is done. Vista was not as componentised as Windows 7, therefore making it slimmer really meant 'hacking' parts out of it.

Windows 7 has a lot of its features bundled into packages, making it much safer. Infact the DISM tool is from Microsoft themselves.

no. The errors installing Vista SP1/2 is based on the method how vLite removes the files which belongs to a component.

_________________"Theory is when you know something, but it doesn't work. Practice is when something works, but you don't know why. Programmers combine theory and practice: Nothing works and they don't know why."